Her Loveless Marriage
by Snow Wing
Summary: Fate threw them together and riped them apart. Her loveless marriage was nothing but a beginning. "I thought you liked her, so I gave up on you. Sorry, Toushirou, but it's too late to go back. You see, my heart already belongs to someone else."
1. Happy Birthday

**Before you read...**

Yes, I know. I haven't touched FanFiction for over a year and I'm sorry. I had a major writer's block. A very big block. I'm sorry and I apologize. I mean it. No, seriously, I do mean it.

Like the previous** A Loveless Marriage**, this is a shot for H.I.T.S.U.H.I.N.A! **Long Live HitsuHina!** (Kazeek's Quote)

I'll be waiting for comments impatiently. Have fun reading!

**Summary:** Fate threw them together, and riped them apart. Her loveless marriage was nothing but a start.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

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**Chapter One**

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**Imperial Hotel Tokyo, Tokyo – 7:03 AM**

Knock. Knock.

"Excuse me, miss. There's a delivery for you."

Momo opened her eyes and blinked. A large bed with a king size mattress, a high ceiling, huge windows giving her a perfect view of Tokyo city, a beautiful white marble floor... No, no, no... Those were definitely not things Momo was used to seeing first thing in the morning. When she finally registered the fact that the room was not her own, she panicked.

She sat up straight and looked around frantically while wondering how the hell she ended up there.

"Okay, calm down. Just breathe and think," Momo said to herself. "Now, where was I yesterday?"

Then, she remembered.

_"Momo-chan, you're not going to believe it!"_

_"Believe me, I will," Momo replied very seriously as she and a couple of friends made their way out of school. "Ever since I became friends with you people, I have come to know that nothing is impossible."_

_"Aww, you're no fun. Okay, now, don't worry. We're just going to blindfold you. Don't resist."_

_"No, no, no," Momo sand as she shook her head vigorously. "No way."_

_"Fine," her friend said as she crossed her arms. "In this case, restrain her while I do the job."_

_Someone grabbed Momo from behind. Momo, surprised by the ambush, froze, which was perfect because it was so much easier to blindfold an immobilized person than someone who put up of fight._

_"Are you guys kidnapping me or something?" Momo said as she let herself blindfolded, knowing that her friends wouldn't actually do something bad to her._

_"Sort of. It's a surprise. Now lower you head if you don't want to hit the car roof."_

Twenty minutes later...

_"Wait, are we inside now?" Momo asked as she felt a rush of cool air over her skin._

_"Yup. Now, just a bit longer. Excuse me! I have a room booked under the name Hinamori."_

_What? Did she just say that there was a room booked under the name Hinamori? Momo stopped following her friends blindly for she was confused. What room was her friend talking about?_

_"Careful," her friend said as she pulled her forward. "The elevator doors will close up on you if you don't hurry."_

_Judging from the sound her shoes made on the floor, Momo knew that she was walking on expensive marble ever since she entered this place. They even had good classical music. Not the type that made you fall asleep as soon as you hear it, but the one that relaxed you and made you feel better. The air was also extremely clean and—_

_"Okay, we're here. You can take off the blindfold now."_

_Her blindfold was pulled off and what she saw amazed her. A beautiful, gorgeous room with spotless white walls greeted her sights. There was a crystal chandelier hanging down from the high ceiling. What amazed her the most were the large windows that gave her a perfect view of Tokyo city._

_"This is amazing!" Momo exclaimed as she rain to the large windows and checked out the great view she had._

_"It's all yours. Well, not exactly yours, but we're giving you a __three nights stay here, at Tokyo's famous Imperial Hotel Tokyo. It's from all of us."_

_One of the girls coughed. "Naomi..."_

_"Okay, fine. It was Miharu who paid for it, but we, meaning Emi, Sachiyo and me, provided the idea."_

_"Wow, thanks so much. That's so nice of you," Momo said, sincerely touched by them. __Money wasn't exactly a problem for Katsuya high students, but for her friends to actually plan all this when they were so busy with finals was really something Momo greatly appreciated._

_"Don't say that yet, because that's not all. Here you go," Emi said as she handed her a couple of cards. "Seasonal passes for night clubs and other places such as theme and amusement parks. Stuff you've always wanted. Those are from me."_

_"And we," Naomi said, pointing at Sachiyo and herself, "are bringing you out for diner and to a huge party in town."_

_"Oh, my God, you guys are the best," Momo said as a large smile lit up her face._

Knock. Knock.

"Excuse me! I'm sorry for disturbing you so early in the morning, but there's a delivery for you."

Momo snapped her head towards the hotel room's enormous double doors. It was then that she finally registered that the knocking came from her door. Momo couldn't be blamed; she wasn't a morning person.

She regretfully left her warm blankets and reached for her silky dressing gown. She didn't like greeting people in pyjamas , but she didn't have much of a choice. Her friends didn't exactly let her pack before dragging her there. They went back to the dorms to grab her pyjamas and her bag after they went out for diner, but that was about all Momo could take before she was dragged out again for a little bit of partying.

While holding back her urge to yawn, Momo opened the double doors. A hotel maid was waiting patiently outside with a huge bouquet of beautiful flowers in her hands. She had wavy black hair and a petite figure. Momo noticed how expensive looking the maid's blue uniform was since the fabric seemed to have the same quality as the one used to make her school uniform.

"Good morning, Hinamori-san. I'm sorry for waking you up so early in the morning, but I was told to deliver these to you immediately."

The maid gently placed the bouquet in Momo's arms and smiled.

"Oh, thank you... Saruwatari Michiko-san," Momo finally said as she eyed the maid's nametag and made a mental note to leave her a tip.

"I'll be taking my leave then," Michiko said as she bowed politely.

Momo gently closed the door behind her and walked back into her five star hotel suite. She slumped into a comfortable and expensive couch before reading the scented greeting card attached to the bouquet.

_To Hinamori Momo, the best Hollywood Girl ever,_

_Happy seventeenth birthday! I hope those flowers arrived on time. I even paid extra so that they would deliver them first thing in the morning. If they didn't do that, I'm so going to sue them... :P High school is so boring without you! You better come back for university. Let's both work hard and aim for Harvard, okay?_

_– Rukia_

Momo glanced at the large bouquet lying beside her and smiled. She then looked at the calendar on her night table and undeniably, it was June 3rd, her birthday. She had been so busy doing her end of semester project that she hadn't even noticed the days passing by so quickly.

It has been three years since she came to Japan to finish her high school studies. Time sure does fly by. Right after she graduated from junior high in one of the best schools in the States, Momo went to Tokyo to continue her studies in Japan just as her mother wished for. After a few months of hard work, Momo entered Katsuya High School, the highest-ranked, private, college-preparatory, co-ed school in Japan and since then, she barely had time to talk with anyone outside of school.

Momo gazed at the sumptuous city of Tokyo from her large windows and sighed happily. Her friends at Katsuya High offered her a wonderful birthday gift and she was going to take all the time in the world to enjoy it. A few minutes passed by as she sat there, admiring the beauty of the city of Tokyo.

When she snapped out of her trance, she took a quick glance at her watch. It was already seven and she better find something to do, and fast, because she sure wasn't going to waste her whole day sitting around. She stood up from the couch to get ready for the day.

She walked to a bag lying on the floor and shuffled through it, looking for her cell phone. During her search, her fingers came across something in the shape of a little booklet. Curious, she pulled it out and realized that it was in fact a mini photo album from the time she was still in junior high. She opened the album carefully and flipped through as many memories rushed through her mind. She remembered how much Japan had confused her with its different school systems and customs and how lost she had been during her first year in the foreign country.

Momo, who had graduated from junior high back in the states, had to re-enter junior high once she arrived in Japan since the school systems were different. While Japanese junior high and senior high were three years each, America's junior high was only two years and senior high was four years. Momo's first and last year in a Japanese junior high school was spent at a local school instead of a private institute so that she could have time to get used to the new environment.

She gently closed the photo album and put it back into her black leather bag. It has been so long since she last went to visit any of her old classmates and maybe today was a good time to drop by. Momo dug her hand back into her bag in search for her cell phone. When she finally got a hold of it, she flipped through her contact list and called.

While she waited for the other side to pick up, her heart pounded in her chest. She was both excited and nervous at the same time, unable to calm herself down.

Click.

"Hello?"

* * *

- Snow Wing -

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**Imperial Hotel Tokyo, Tokyo – 7:55 AM**

The doorbell rang as soon as Momo put the phone down. A maid was waiting at the door with a nice Japanese breakfast that included a bowl of miso soup and steamed rice and couple of side dishes such as grilled fish, tamagoyaki (a sort of rolled omelette), boiled eggs, pickles, seasoned seaweed and natto. She tipped the maid and sat down at the dining table to enjoy her food.

As she ate, she thought about the phone call she just had.

_Momo called the Kurosaki household, having something to discuss with Kurosaki Isshin, Ichigo's father. She was surprised when she Ichigo was the one to pick up the phone. Her heart fluttered with joy and she was so happy to hear his voice again that she didn't know what to say the first few seconds until Ichigo threatened impatiently to hang up._

_When Ichigo recognized Momo's voice, she could tell that he was surprised too. She was glad that he didn't forget about her and chatted a bit with him. Ichigo listened as she told him about Katsuya High, the city of Tokyo and how things were very different from America. She also described him the wonderful things she saw in the capital of Japan._

_"What about you?" Momo said after realizing that she was monopolizing the conversation for the past ten minutes. Ichigo was a great listener, but she didn't want him to get bored listening to her._

_"There's nothing special going on here. Karakura Town has been quiet and__—_"

_Before he could say anything else, Momo heard the door being violently slammed on Ichigo's side of the line._

_"Whoa, Karin, what the hell happened with you?" Ichigo asked as his sister stormed into the house._

_Karin sat down angrily and bit into a banana. She chewed the fruit furiously and glared at Ichigo who tried to approach her to check up on her._

_"There's a bunch of stupid Americans who just landed in Japan and have nothing better to do then take other people's soccer fields," Karin replied, her mouth full of banana._

_"It's not technically your soccer field..."_

_"Oh, shut up," Karin said impatiently. "Last week, it was Tokyo's juvenile soccer team who came to establish their training camp. Now, there's more..." Karin said. She struggled for the right word before she came up with, "...intruders!"_

_"Didn't you befriend Tokyo's juvenile soccer team? Why can't you befriend them too?"_

_"Everyone in that team is overly confident and full of arrogance. What annoys me the most is that they have a major lack of modesty, especially their captain. Worst of all is that he's Japanese and he bleaches his hair! I can't believe it."_

_Momo heard every single word of their conversation and felt bad for Karin. She knew how much the younger girl loved soccer and how annoying it must be to have random people barge into a soccer field she practically grew up in._

_"Hey, Karin, where are you going?" Ichigo said when Karin was heading out of the house again._

_"Tsubakidai park," she replied, swallowing the rest of her banana._

_"What for?"_

_"I'm going to win that soccer field back of course! If I can't have it, at least Tokyo's team should have it. There's no way I'm letting some foreigner on my field."_

_Karin slammed the door on her way out too, loud enough for Momo to hear it._

_"Yeah..." Ichigo said as his sister ran out as violently as when she came into the house. "You were saying?"_

_"Oh, I was just__—_"

Ring. Ring. Ring

Momo's train of thoughts was interrupted by her phone. She lazily reached for it and flipped it open. A very long chain of numbers filled up the screen.

"A long-distance call..." Momo said as she raised her eyebrows in surprise. She wondered who the caller was and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Happy birthday, Momo," said a familiar voice.

Momo's face lit up in surprise. While putting down the spoonful of miso soup she was about to swallow, she asked uncertainly, "Kira...?"

"That's right."

"Hey, how are you? How's Paris?"

"I'm good. Paris is great." replied Kira Izuru, Momo's beloved step-brother. He was one of the top students at INSEAD Business School, in France.

"What about you?"

"I'm enjoying my time at Imperial Hotel Tokyo's, in one of their imperial suites. You jealous?" Momo said with a little grin.

"Where did you get that?" Kira exclaimed instead.

"My friends from Katsuya high gave it to me as a birthday present. Speaking of presents, where's yours?"

Kira cleared his throat.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Momo asked him, narrowing her eyes. Kira couldn't see her at her, but he could picture that look of deep suspicious on her face.

"Nothing."

"Don't tell me you _forgot_!" Momo said accusingly.

"Of course I got you something," Kira said, trying to get himself out of this one. "It's just that it's...on its way. Yeah, your present is on its way."

There was a pause. Kira waited for Momo's answer, hoping that she wouldn't make the situation too difficult for him. He completely forgot about her birthday until a calendar warning on his computer popped up and told him that it was his step-sister's birthday.

"Right," Momo said, breaking the silent moment.

"So..." Kira said, trying to revive the conversation. "Tell me, where are you staying during summer vacation? If you say 'school dorms' again, I'm going to drag you out of there myself."

Momo smiled at that.

"No worries. This year, I'm staying in Karakura Town with some junior high friends."

Kira was stunned. Karakura town? Did he hear right? His sister was planning on spending her whole summer vacations in a small town when she could have chosen to spend it in the big cities?

"Why Karakura town?" Kira finally asked since he couldn't find anything better to say.

"I rented the apartment beside the Kurosaki Clinic, just like I used to do when I went to Mashiba Junior High School, two years ago."

"Yeah, but that still doesn't tell me why you're going there instead of places like Europe or America. Maybe you should come and visit INSEAD. You're going to study here, right?"

"Well, I sort of want to spend some time with my junior high friends too. INSEAD can wait."

"You don't need to spend the entire summer with them either and no, INSEAD cannot wait."

"Goodness, Kira! Just let me do what I want to do!"

"Okay, okay, calm down," Kira said, not wanting to quarrel with his sister the day of her birthday. It wasn't like they fight normally, but they would argue and their arguments could go on for days.

"Okay, let's change subject. You think you can come over to Japan this summer?"

"I don't know. I might stay for some fieldwork, you know, to practice for later. Sorry."

"Oh, okay. Have fun," Momo said sincerely, free of sarcasm.

There was a pause as both thought about something to say. They haven't seen each other for so long that there was plenty to tell, but neither knew where to start. Finally, Kira broke the silence.

"Anyway, I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday. I'll be going now."

"Okay. Bye," she said before disconnecting.

She quickly finished her breakfast and put the cell phone in her bag. She gathered a couple more things before leaving.

It was time to pay her friends a little surprise visit.

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**- To be continued... -**


	2. The Unexpected

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

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**Chapter Two**

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Karakura Town, Tokyo – 9:12 AM**

Momo walked around Karakura Town slowly. She took her time, trying to reminisce about all the things she did when she was still a student in one of Karakura Town's local junior high schools. She remembered about the local library she went to. She also remembered how she desperate she was to improve her once poor Japanese that he was reading childish, easy Japanese novels. She also remembered the family whose kids she used to tutor. She believed that communication was the fastest way to improve her speaking.

Momo walked a bit more and ended up in Tsubakidai Park. It was the park where she used to fool around with her junior high friends, the park she used to stay until late at night to watch the stars, the place where she first met Ichigo…

She slowly made her way around the park and a feeling of nostalgia washed over her. After being locked up in a forest of cement for nearly two whole years, it sure felt good to be surrounded by nature once again. She loved the cities and she loved Tokyo, but what she loved even more was life itself. Life is beautiful and unpredictable, just like abstract art. She liked the feeling of hundreds and thousands of creatures buzzing around her. Oh, how she missed those morning walks in the forest…

A sound in the distance attracted her attention, making her ears perk up with interest. She listened carefully and believed that it sounded like cheering. Curious, she followed the voices and they were becoming clearer and clearer as she neared the large soccer field located beside the Karasu River. When she reached the field, she could see a lot of people sitting on the bleachers.

Most of the girls were wearing purple and white soccer uniforms while the rest was wearing cheerleading outfits that matched the soccer uniform. All the guys were wearing blue and white uniforms and sat at the other bleacher. Momo blinked a couple of times to make sure that she wasn't seeing things. Was it her or was the blue team really a team full of foreigners? If that was the case, what were they doing in Japan? Why were they training in Karakura Town of all places?

Knowing that her questions wouldn't get answered just by staring at them, Momo's attention diverted to the actual game played on the field. It was a heated soccer match and it was hard to tell who would end up winning. The players on the field were highly skilled and a large variety of ball tricks were performed. As Momo observed the game, she realized that the two rivalling teams were not only of different nationalities, but of different genders too. The purple team was a girls' team while the blue team was a boys' team which is very surprising since opposite genders almost never compete against each other in sports, and that included soccer.

Even though she wasn't a professional when it came to soccer, she was still pretty knowledgeable. After a few minutes, she could tell that the girls had better tactics and teamwork. However, the girls' stamina was running quite low compared to the boys who seemed to be able to keep up for another twenty minutes or so.

Deciding that she had seen enough of it, she decided to leave. However, right before she could, something caught her attention. She thought she had seen someone she knew, but she wasn't sure. After a closer look, she confirmed that she wasn't mistaking. That girl sitting at the bottom of the bleachers was definitely Karin, Ichigo's sister. At that exact moment, as if she felt Momo's gaze on her, Karin lifted her eyes up and met with Momo's. Momo smiled at her, but the younger girl did not smile back. Instead, she stood up and said something, but Momo was too far and the cheers covered Karin's voice.

"What the…?" Momo said in total confusion. Then, her senses went on full alert as she felt something coming, something fast and dangerous. And then…

SWOOSH

JUMP. TURN. KICK.

IMPACT!

BOUNCE. BOUNCE. BOUNCE.

ROLL…

The cheers quickly quieted down as all stared at Momo, speechless. Okay, I bet you are confused. Let's rewind and play it slow.

A girl on the purple team had the ball and a boy from the opposing team was trying to steal it from her. The boy was running recklessly fast towards her and the chances of them colliding was very high. The boy almost stole the ball from the girl, but she was persistent at defending it. The girl gave herself a boost and kicked, but she miscalculated and kicked a lot harder than necessary. However, the boy did not move out of the way. Instead, he wanted to trip her to steal the ball from her. The tripping part was a success since it caught her by surprised. The girl slipped on the grass and with the momentum of her kick, she tripped and twisted her ankle when she landed.

However, the ball stealing part didn't go as the boy planned. The girl managed to land a kick, but with the overdose of energy, she kicked the ball in a completely random direction. Karin, who had her eyes glued to the ball since the start of the game, could see that it was flying out of the field. As her eyes followed its trajectory, Momo entered her field of view. With one glance, Karin could tell that the ball was going to hit the girl standing there, at the border of the woods, which was right beside the soccer field.

Karin quickly stood up and yelled as loud as she could, "Be careful!"

Karin knew that the girl, which was Momo, saw her since they made eye contact, but she was sure that Momo couldn't hear her over all the noise the cheerleaders were making. At the last second, Momo seemed to have sensed the soccer ball, which was aiming for her at comet speed. Momo jumped up and while she was still in the air, she flung her right leg and kicked it back towards the field with equal strength.

It was then that the field went quiet. Everyone there had very good knowledge about soccer. Ether they were playing for an official team, which guarantees the fact that they know a lot about soccer; either they were part of the cheerleading team that has been cheering for the same team for years, which also guarantees the fact that they're far from ignorant about soccer. Even though they have probably all seen incredible kicks during official games, they were still stunned by Momo's reflexes and impressed by the move she managed to pull off.

Knowing that it wasn't a move a normal athlete could pull off, Karin was also stunned by Momo's incredibly fast reflexes and agility. Karin looked at Momo from head to toe. Now that she could have a better look, Momo did seem somewhat familiar.

A small thud at her feet pulled her back into the reality. Karin looked down and saw that the soccer ball had stopped at her feet. She mechanically picked it up and kept thinking. She was now positive that she had seen that girl somewhere before, not to mention that kick …

"Oh, my God, are you okay?" said Momo as she helped the injured girl up.

Unlike the bunch of people still gaping at her earlier achievement, Momo noticed that the girl was clutching her ankle in pain and seemed to be unable to stand up. She quickly walked towards the field and went to see if the girl needed any help.

"Take your time," Momo said as she put the girl's arm over her shoulders and helped her limp towards the bleachers.

"I'm really sorry for causing you so much trouble," the girl replied. "Thank you."

"Don't even mention it."

Everyone was still too shocked to say or do anything intelligently, so they simply stepped aside to make way for the two who made their way towards the bleachers. Karin was the first one to regain her senses.

"Quick, go get some ice and bandages," Karin said to a cheerleading sitting beside her. She turned to another girl and added, "Can you please call the coach and ask her to hurry?"

The two girls nodded and ran off. Then, Karin then turned towards Momo and said, "Thank you very much for your help and we apologize for the incident."

"It's nothing," Momo replied with a reassuring smile. Then, seeing that Karin was looking at her strangely, Momo asked, "Is there something wrong?"

Karin simply blurted, "Have we met somewhere?"

Momo stared at Karin. She couldn't believe that Karin didn't remember her. They have been neighbours for almost a year and she was classmates and good friends with Ichigo! Momo knew that she was very shy back in junior high, especially during the first few months because she couldn't speak Japanese very well, but was she really that invisible?

"Karin, it's me! I'm Hinamori Momo," Momo said after a moment.

"Hinamori…?" Karin said blankly. The name seemed somewhat familiar, but she couldn't really match it to a face in her sea of memories.

"I used to be classmates with your brother, back in junior high. I used to play soccer with you, remember?"

Karin was thinking really hard now. Her brother didn't have many girl friends. The only ones she knew were Orihime and Tatsuki and none of them ever played soccer with her. Now, back in junior high… Karin was desperately trying to remember about the girl standing in front of her now that Momo was looked at her expectantly. Then, an image suddenly flashed through her mind, the image of a small girl with two pigtails, running extremely fast to keep up with Ichigo who tried to kick the ball away from her.

"Ah, I remember! You used to live next door, right?" Karin said, surprised that she actually forgot about Momo.

Karin took a good look at Momo, scanning her from head to toe and finally said, "You've changed…a lot. I can barely recognize you now."

"You think so?" asked Momo as she subconsciously reached for her hair. Her long black hair used to cascade all the way down her back, but when she entered Katsuya High, she decided to cut it until it barely reached her shoulders. "I only cut my hair."

"No, not only that," Karin said. "You changed on the inside too. You're more open than before, much more."

"Well, that's a good thing, I suppose. Oh, by the way –"

Before she could go on, a young woman's voice full of maturity sounded not far from them.

"Karin, how's Satsuki?"

Momo turned around and saw a tall, model-like woman jump out from a red luxury car.

"Coach!" a few girls said as their soccer coach came in a quick jog.

"Yoruichi-san," Karin said as a way to greet coach Yoruichi. "Satsuki injured her ankle during a friendly match against Real So Cal and it's swelling like crazy. I think she ripped something."

"Okay, I'll go check that."

Yoruichi went to examine Satsuki's injury and gave her a few short massages to see how she reacted. Judging by her reactions, Yoruichi concluded that the girl wouldn't be playing for four to six weeks. The regional tournament was coming up in two weeks and Satsuki was an important forward, a practically irreplaceable forward.

"Can she make it in time for the next game?" Karin asked, worried.

"I don't think so," Yoruichi said as she shook her head sadly. "We'll need to find a substitute player."

"That'll be difficult," Karin replied as her brows furrowed. She didn't understand how a small trip-and-fall could cause so much trouble. Either Satsuki didn't land well at all, either the player from Real So Cal tripped her a little too hard.

"I know," the coach replied with a sigh.

Since the beginning of the new season, many players left Tokyo's juvenile soccer team since they were too old to stay in the _juvenile_ category. All the substitute players were now regulars and none of the new candidates were experienced enough to play the position of forward.

"Yoruichi-san, I have an idea…" Karin said as her eyes landed on Momo.

As Karin shared her thoughts with Yoruichi, the young coach threw a few glances towards Momo. Her smile grew as Karin finished talking. She nodded and said a couple of things herself to Karin.

In the mean time, Momo was getting nervous. Were they talking about her? Maybe they would try to blame the incident on her and make her pay the medical fees… She looked around for help, but there was none. She sighed and refocused on the two still discussing.

Momo slightly jumped when Yoruichi's sharp gaze met with hers. The older woman grinned at her, a grin full of mystery that made Momo feel very uneasy. She stiffened when Yoruichi approached her and said to her, "Please come here for a second."

* * *

- Snow Wing -

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Tsubakidai Park, Tokyo – 9:39**** AM**

"Um…"

"Yes?"

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes."

"Why does coach Yoruichi trust you so much? What if I'm not as good as you claim? What if I –"

"I've seen you play before. Heck, I've played _against_ you before. I know how good you are on the field and Yoruichi-san knows how accurate my judgement is."

"Ah…"

Momo was now standing face to face with a handsome American boy who seemed unexpectedly familiar to her and she didn't even know why she felt that way. They were several meters apart while Karin and the team coach, Shihōin Yoruichi, watched her. In fear of dirtying her own clothes, Momo borrowed a set of soccer uniform and Karin's soccer shoes.

"Hitsugaya-kun, you can start now," the coach said.

"Hn," the one named Hitsugaya replied with a slight nod.

Momo was almost panicking. She _hated_ tests. Even if this one wasn't going to count in her report card, she was still stressed like crazy. Now, why did she accept again to join the team as a substitute player when Karin recommended her? Right, because she had nothing to do during summer and thought that soccer would surely entertain her one way or the other. Of course, she should have known that she couldn't just join like that. It was Tokyo's juvenile soccer team after all and they didn't take anyone in. There had to be a test.

The worst thing in all this was the fact that the test was given by one of America's top soccer club's captain, Hitsugaya Tōshirō. Now, why didn't he mind his own business? Right, because he was feeling a tiny bit guilty that his team mate was pretty much the one who caused all this mess by tripping Satsuki. So, he volunteered to help.

Wasn't he American? If so, why couldn't he just jump into a plane and fly back to wherever he came from and leave her alone?

While she was lost in her thoughts, Tōshirō picked up the ball from the ground with his foot and kicked it towards Momo, checking to see if her reflexes were as good as what they seemed to be earlier or if that was just pure luck. With a kick full of power from Tōshirō, the ball was coming at Momo with astonishing speed and the girl barely had any time to react to the unexpected attack. She jumped up and the ball bounced off her chest to land in front of her. Momo used her foot to keep it from rolling away and looked up to glare at Hitsugaya.

"What the hell was that supposed to mean?" she yelled at him in perfect English. When she got mad, colourful outbursts in English would flow out of her mouth and she couldn't even help it. The good thing in all this was that most of the time people had absolutely no clue about what she was talking saying.

"Just checking," Tōshirō was slightly taken back that Momo's English was so perfect. He also answered in English and said, "I'm Hitsugaya Tōshirō, captain of Real So Cal."

"Hinamori Momo," Momo answered with a small smile. "I used to play for Katsuya High."

"Katsuya High… That's impressive," Tōshirō commented, knowing that Katsuya High was famous for its top education and high success rate.

"Thanks," Momo said. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," he answered.

"Follow me."

* * *

- Snow Wing -

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* * *

Tsubakidai Park, Tokyo – 9:51**** AM**

"What do you want me to do?" Momo asked as Tōshirō brought her in front of a set of lined up cones with a soccer ball at her feet. The rest of the teams were having practice games.

"Dribble," he ordered as he pointed at the pattern she had to get through.

"I can't dribble."

"You're not serious," Tōshirō said with an incredulous look on his face. "You mean you've never done this when you were smaller or something?" Tōshirō asked, convinced that everyone have at least played soccer at some point of their life.

"Of course I've done this before, but it doesn't mean that I can dribble _well_. I don't have to excel in everything that I've been taught. Just demonstrate, please."

Tōshirō obliged since he didn't really have a choice. Yoruichi-san told him to test her, but she never said that he couldn't demonstrate. So, he started dribbling the ball through the line of cones while Momo observed him from the sides. Before rounding up the corner to repeat the pattern again on the way back, he passed the ball to Momo who stopped it automatically with her foot.

"Your turn," Tōshirō said. "I noticed that you only looked at my feet. You should have also observed the way I used my arms for balance and the coordination between my body and the position of my feet."

"I'm confident about my balance," Momo replied before she went to position herself. She looked at the cones, then looked at Tōshirō and sighed.

"Might as well get over with this," Momo muttered and started dribbling through the pattern with ease.

"And you claim you can't dribble," Tōshirō said, making an effort not to roll his eyes.

"That wasn't very good, mind you," Momo said as she pointed out the few places she made mistakes or times where she could improve.

"Well, it's not bad for a girl."

"Sexist, aren't we?"

"You think?" Tōshirō replied with a straight face.

Great. She was in a verbal fight with a guy she barely knew. She really didn't need that on her birthday.

"Okay, let's drop that for the moment. Just continue, will you?"

Tōshirō sighed. They didn't start on very good terms, which was quite a shame since he was interested in her after seeing that kick. He tested her on other basic techniques such as ball control and accuracy, which were things she were very capable of doing.

Now, there was one last test left, something given by the coach herself. Momo could feel the excitement building up in her, making her blood boil. At first, she wasn't that thrilled. In fact, she felt like quitting and felt that she made the wrong decision. However, when Tōshirō tested her with that emotionless face and made everything sound like 'if you fail, it's not your fault since you're a girl and girls aren't supposed to be all that good in sports anyway', she felt challenged. She was going to prove to him that girls weren't weak and they she was very capable of joining Tokyo's juvenile soccer team.

She was now full of confidence, ready to crush anything coming her way. Momo walked towards Yoruichi and Karin and whispered under her breath:

"Bring it on."

* * *

**- To be continued... -**


	3. Last Test

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

* * *

**Tsubakidai Park, Tokyo – 10:02 AM**

"How's she doing?" Yoruichi asked when Tōshirō returned with a slight frown over his face.

"Perfect," Tōshirō answered. He rarely gave anyone that type of comment, but there was no other word to describe what he had just seen.

At the beginning, Momo's moves weren't very sharp, but that quickly changed. In a matter of minutes, Momo went from a somewhat amateur play by making plenty of stupid mistakes to a much more professional play.

"Wow…" Yoruichi said as she raised her eyebrows. "That's impressive."

Yoruichi saw how serious Tōshirō's team was when it came to soccer. Judging from that, she didn't need to know Tōshirō personally to conclude that his attitude towards soccer was also very professional. For Momo to receive such a high-rated comment, she must really be something.

"Just as Karin said, Hinamori's techniques are decent, her reflexes are sharp and she has good control. That was pretty much everything I could test. I can help you train her if you'd like since it is partially our fault that you need a substitute player."

"That would be greatly appreciated. Thank you," Yoruichi said as she smiled at him.

Tōshirō nodded and went to join his team. When he turned around to leave, his eyes met with Momo's. The two didn't say anything or tried to exchange a message. They simply looked at each other straight in the eyes and through that look, they were trying to read the other, to see what was hidden deep in the other person's soul. They wanted to know what the other was thinking, what the other was hiding behind their façades. Momo and Tōshirō knew very well that neither of them opened up to the other fully. A part of Momo hid behind that small smile while Tōshirō completely covered himself behind that emotionless face.

Tōshirō found nothing more in those chocolate brown eyes than what Momo was willing to show him and the moment was shattered when Tōshirō looked away to leave.

"So, your name is Hinamori Momo, right?" Yoruichi asked, pulling Momo back into reality.

"Yes," Momo answered politely with a small smile.

"If I remember correctly, you've played for Katsuya High before."

"Yes."

"No way!" one of the cheerleaders exclaimed. When she saw the warning look Yoruichi gave her, she apologized and looked down, slightly embarrassed.

"Katsuya High monopolized the position of national champions for the past few years, so I was surprised to see one of their players," the same cheerleader said to defend herself.

"She's that good?" one of her friends asked in an excited whisper. "No wonder she could return Satsuki's kick so easily."

It wasn't exactly _easy_ to return that kick, so Momo opened her mouth to say something, but she was cut off.

"I bet she's ever better than some of the regulars on the team," another cheerleader said.

"Yeah," a third one said as she joined the conversation. "Maybe she can even become a regular."

Momo didn't exactly consider herself to be that good, so before any of the girls started thinking of her as some soccer pro, she said with a small smile, "It's nothing like that, really. I'm not even part of the school team. I only played during one season to replace my friend."

"What position?" Yoruichi asked.

"Mostly forward," Momo answered, facing Yoruichi whenever she spoke. "I've played defence a couple of times too."

Yoruichi thought about it before saying, "You'll start as defence then. As soon as you get used to the team, I'll move you to Satsuki's position."

Yoruichi turned towards her team, looking at each and every player carefully. "Let's see…"

Her eyes fell on one particular girl with long brown hair tied up in a high ponytail. She wasn't very tall for her age, but she was faster than most of them team. Momo could see her leg muscles flexing whenever she moved.

"Asuka, you take over for Satsuki."

The girl named Asuka was talking with a few team mates while lacing her shoes. When she heard Yoruichi, she looked up and answered in a loud and clear voice, "Yes!"

Yoruichi turned towards Momo and said, "Momo, you'll start as center back."

"Okay."

"Now, as for the final test…"

Yoruichi scanned her players. She selected a few to make a team while she asked Tōshirō to do the same on his side. The boy obliged without even asking questions. He had a pretty good idea what Yoruichi wanted.

"My final test… A simulation game, huh?" Momo said when she realized that the girls' team was missing a player: herself.

Momo saw the girls play before. When Karin told her that she would like her to become a substitute player, Momo paid extra attention to each member's playing styles during their simulation games. She had time to analyze most people's basic playing style. Furthermore, Momo knew how Tōshirō thought that women didn't have their places in sports. That thought only made her blood boil with excitement and she was fired up to prove him wrong.

When Momo was serious, nothing was going to stop her from getting what she wanted. If she wanted to get on the team, she was going to get her place on Tokyo's juvenile soccer team.

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**Tsubakidai Park, Tokyo – 10:35 AM**

"Hinamori, the ball is coming your way!" yelled one of the girls on her team, the purple team.

"I got it!"

Momo agilely blocked the pass. A player on the blue team who was close to her tried to steal it, but Momo easily passed by him with some good feints. She dribbled the ball to the middle of the field and made a perfect pass to one of her team mates. However, before her team mate could reach the ball, Tōshirō intercepted it and dribbled past Momo. When Tōshirō ran past her, he threw her a glance and his face was as emotionless as ever. That rendered Momo furious. Couldn't he at least pretend that this game wasn't just child's play to him?

"Screw you…" Momo murmured as she chased after him.

Tōshirō was a really good player and that was an undeniable fact. However, it didn't seem like he felt the need to give his one hundred percent for this game. Even thought he wasn't making any effort, he was still the best player on the field and that really irritated Momo. How can someone like him who did things half-heartedly still be so good?

Momo felt _insulted_ and she wasn't about to let that kind of insult pass by so easily. If Tokyo's juvenile soccer team wasn't going to show him that winning took a bit more than just skills, then she would.

After passing by another center back, Tōshirō saw from the corner of his eye a small form charging at him at the speed of a bullet.

"What the…"

Tōshirō recognized Momo alright and he sure did not want to crash into her, so he increased his speed, hoping to lose her. Unfortunately for him, Momo was also very fast on her feet, much faster than he expected. When they were only a few meters apart, Momo jumped and slid horizontally on the grass and successfully kicked the ball away.

As she nearly slid under him to steal the ball, she made eye contact with Tōshirō again. She saw surprise flash through his eyes as she smirked at him. In a matter of milliseconds, Tōshirō has lost the control of the ball. Tōshirō was very surprised by her sudden aggressiveness and almost tripped on her. When he regained his balance, Momo was already up. She passed the ball to Asuka.

"Nice, Hinamori," Asuka yelled over all the noises made by the cheerleaders. As expected of a regular player, Asuka did a perfect reception of the ball. Without wasting another second, she ran towards the goal.

However, after a few exchanges, the ball was once more in the middle of the field. Asuka was intercepted before she had the chance to score. She looked back and a silent message flashed through her eyes when she met Momo's gaze. The two girls smiled at each other and Asuka slowed down her pace and remained in the other half of the field while Momo went for the ball as it rolled across the field.

Tōshirō got to the ball first and was once more controlling the game, which greatly annoyed Momo. Along with another team mate from the purple team, the girl and Momo went for the soccer ball. Momo was the decoy. She was to distract Tōshirō while her team mate stole the ball as soon as she had the opportunity to do so.

Momo was officially getting on Tōshirō's nerves when she managed to steal the ball from him a second time. Momo smiled at him sweetly before running off as fast as she could. She sent the ball across the whole field and Asuka agilely caught it with her foot and scored before anyone could interfere again.

"Goal," screamed the cheerleaders enthusiastically.

Tōshirō, hoping to stop the goal, slowed down his pace until he came to a stop. He directed his gaze towards Momo and stared at her for a moment, an incredulous look in his eyes. He couldn't believe how good Momo actually was when she wasn't even a regular player for an official team.

In the meanwhile, Asuka jogged towards Momo and smiled at her. She held up her hand and Momo gave her a high-five. Other girls from the team also came to congratulate her.

"You're great!" said one.

"Yeah, you really surprised me! You fit into the team so well when we've never played together before."

"You know, you're not as bad as I thought. I was so sure that we wouldn't even make the second round of the regional games when Satsuki was taken off the team. Now, I have hope."

Momo smiled as satisfaction filled her up, knowing that she had won the challenge that life threw at her face by making her substitute for a soccer player when she hadn't touched soccer for some time. Momo was also happy that she was appreciated and needed, which made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. She chatted with them until Tōshirō came into her field of view. He was getting ready to return to Tokyo where his training camp was since Real So Cal was only visiting Karakura Town.

"Excuse me for a second," Momo said as she walked up to Tōshirō with a smile filled with confidence and a bit of arrogance on her face.

"Well…?" Momo asked as she looked at him straight in the eyes.

"What?" Tōshirō asked, that same emotionless face never changing.

"Don't you have anything to say to me? Like 'Congratulations, Momo! You made the team!' or something like that?"

Tōshirō simply stared back at her. Seeing that she probably wouldn't budge until he congratulated her, he said with the same emotionless face of his, "Good job, Momo, you made the team."

Now it was Momo's turn to stare. She didn't actually expect him to say that to her, especially after she practically demanded him to say something.

"Thank you," Momo answered, sincerely surprised. "Well, I guess this is goodbye then. It was nice meeting you."

"Yeah."

"Handshake?" Momo asked, as she extended her hand.

Tōshirō took it silently. They looked into each other's eyes, both staring deep down. It was probably the last time they would ever see each other. Real So Cal trained in Tokyo, unlike Tokyo's juvenile soccer team who had a short training camp in Karakura Town. Even though Momo lived in Tokyo, it was such a big city that the chances of running into each other were very slim.

However, even so, neither of them was opening up to the other. The walls guarding their souls refused to break down. Momo sighed a bit, knowing that it was futile to try harder to read him and murmured to herself, "I guess that's as far as we'll go."

"What?"

"Nothing, I—"

"Hinamori!"

Yoruichi was waving at her, telling her to join her. Momo turned back towards Tōshirō and said, "I have to go." before running off towards her coach, leaving Tōshirō behind to look at her retreating back.

* * *

**- To be continued... -**


	4. Flash of White

**Author's Note:** Last chapter was way too short to my liking and I don't particularly like the way it ended either. So, I'm giving you lovely readers an early update. Have fun reading!

Special thanks to Temporarily Nameless, chococat450, BLEACHISAWESOMEANDIMAWESOME XP, Momo21, darklover, serenity095, Kazeek, Rinka Tokmiya, nexuswarrior, monkeywinz and Kat for their wonderful reviews. Also, I'd like to say a small thank you to those who put this story on their favorites and alerts lists. I love you all!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

**Chapter Four**

* * *

**Tsubakidai Park, Tokyo – 4:02 PM**

A bit more than a week has passed since Momo was admitted into Tokyo's juvenile soccer team. School was soon coming to an end and she was so busy with projects and exams that she barely had time to breathe. As expected, she never saw Tōshirō again, ever since her birthday, and to tell the truth, she missed him.

Tōshirō intrigued her. He was mysterious, someone Momo could not understand or comprehend. His face was forever blank, void of all emotions, as if he locked away his heart and soul deep within himself. But Momo knew that his emotionless self was a lie.

She knew that Tōshirō harboured emotions because his eyes betrayed him. Those deep pools full of secrets and enigma were fascinating. Whenever Momo looked straight into his aqua-green eyes, she felt completely captivated and was mesmerized by their beauty. And when she looked deep enough, she could see a small fire burning within those gorgeous orbs, as if his eyes hosted a spark of life itself.

Even now, Momo could picture his face clearly in her mind, especially those mesmerizing eyes of his... Then, the image shattered as Momo suddenly froze in her tracks.

"No, no, no, no, no, no," Momo said as she shook her head violently. "Just...no."

What the hell was she thinking about? She didn't have the time to think about such frivolous subjects, especially if said subject was someone she would probably never see again. There were so many things she had to think about, such as end-of-term projects and final exams. She didn't have time to worry about _him_.

Realizing that she slowed down, Momo picked up her pace, going from a slow walk to a light jog. She was already taking a shortcut, cutting through to woods in Tsubakidai Park, but she knew that she would probably still be late for her weekday afternoon practice. Yoruichi was very strict about punctuality and the last thing she needed was a scolding.

"Goodness, why is it so damn hot!"

Momo shuffled through her bag, her fingers brushing over her soccer uniform, her shoes and a couple of towels, but no water bottle. Momo groaned in frustration, knowing that she probably left it in the school dorms. She looked around, hoping for a water fountain to magically appear in the woods.

While she scanned the area, knowing very well that she wouldn't find a drinkable water source, she caught a flash of white from the corner of her eyes.

"What the...?"

Momo didn't see what it was, but it was too big to be something as harmless as a white fluffy bunny. Hoping that it wasn't some wild animal, Momo carefully scanned her surroundings a second time before she moved, but she didn't find anything. Whatever she saw was probably gone.

Momo frowned a bit, but didn't think too much about it.

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**Tsubakidai Park, Tokyo – 3:56 PM**

Having encountered some mysterious white creature in the woods just the day before, Momo knew that it would be a wise decision not to take that route again. But, Momo being Momo, she took it anyway. She might be shy or timid, but she was also a very curious girl, almost too curious for her own good. And it was with a large sports bag on her shoulders (this time, she made sure that she also had her water bottle) that Momo ventured into the woods once again.

During the first few minutes, Momo didn't hear nor see anything abnormal. It was peaceful and quiet and everything looked normal. Seeing that nothing was wrong, Momo started to doubt herself. Maybe she was just being paranoid. Maybe she was hallucinating or maybe it was simply of trick of the light.

"Maybe I'm just tired..."

A little before she reached the edge of the woods, she heard a rustle not too far from her. She snapped her head around and saw a flash of white right before it disappeared behind a tree.

"I don't think it's a trick of the light anymore..."

Momo put her bag down and slowly walked towards the direction from which she heard the rustle. She slowly approached the tree behind which the flash of white disappeared to.

STEP

"I wonder what it was..."

STEP

"A dog...?"

STEP

"A cat...?"

STEP

"Something bigger...?"

She finally reached the tree. Her heart was pounding in her chest. If it was a big animal, it would have been better if she just left it alone, but she was curious. She wanted to see what that flash of white really was. She took one more step and carefully put her right hand on the branches hiding her view. She took a deep breath and suddenly pushed the branches aside.

The excitement lighting up Momo's face quickly disappeared. There was nothing behind the branches. Momo went around the whole tree, but there was nothing, no trace of an animal or anything of the sort.

"That was disappointing..."

* * *

- Snow Wing -

* * *

**Tsubakidai Park, Tokyo – 3:32 PM**

The day after that, Momo made her way through the woods slowly and quietly. She was extremely early for her afternoon practice, so she had all the time she wanted to find out about the flash of white she kept seeing the past two days. She was still curious about it and hoped that it wouldn't flee this time. As she approached the area where she spotted it the previous days, she slowed down and minimized the noises made by her feet.

Momo looked carefully around her and saw a white spot among green leaves. A triumphant smile graced her lips for she was overjoyed. She was finally going to find out what was there. She made her way towards it as quietly as possible, taking each step with extreme caution and care, afraid of scarring it away again by accidentally snapping a twig.

However, when she was close enough to actually see the white spot, her smile slowly faded until a scowl replaced it.

It wasn't an animal. Not at all.

It was _him_.

"Hitsugaya Tōshirō, what the hell are you doing here?"

Tōshirō was there, sitting behind the low bushes circling the woods. His knees were slightly bent and both of his palms were pressed against the grassy ground in a very relaxed way. He slightly froze at Momo's voice, something Momo would have missed had she not been staring at him intently ever since she discovered that he was the white flash she had been seeing that past couple of days.

She had been thinking about him ever since they parted ways two weeks ago, but it was not under these circumstances she had wanted their moment of reunion. His presence there was suspicious and most probably not very welcomed by Tokyo's juvenile soccer team ever since his team, Real So Cal, injured Satsuki.

"Well...?" Momo asked impatiently, seeing that Tōshirō was ignoring her. She dumped her sports bag on the grassed and took a few steps in his direction. "What are you doing here?"

Tōshirō turned around slowly until he stared right into Momo's eyes, his face forever emotionless.

"Nothing," he said in his unique deep voice.

"You're not spying on us, are you?" Momo asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Why should I?"

God, how she hated that kind of comeback: answering a question with a question. Well, two could play at that game.

"Why shouldn't you?" Momo asked, shooting his retort back at him as she eyed him suspiciously.

Since she didn't have a very good first impression of him to begin with, she wouldn't be surprised that Tōshirō was up to no good by showing up at their practice place again and again.

"Aren't you supposed to be in Tokyo? What are you doing in Karakura Town instead?"

Tōshirō didn't answer her. He simply stared at her, a slight frown on his handsome face.

"Anyway, where's the rest of your team?" Momo asked when she didn't spot the rest of the Real So Cal boys.

"Not here," Tōshirō answered as he directed his gaze back to whatever he was looking at before Momo interrupted.

Momo followed his gaze, wondering what could possibly catch ice-cube Tōshirō's attention and her eyes landed on the soccer field Tokyo's juvenile soccer team used to practice. Karin was practicing alone, shooting a couple of goals after dribbling for a while. Her skills were indeed impressive, considering how young Karin was, but Momo didn't understand what was so interesting about a girl playing soccer in a park.

Momo turned back towards Tōshirō to ask him about it, but she shut up as soon as she saw the look he had in his eyes when he stared at Karin.

Oh. _Oh._

A sly smile crept on Momo's face.

"I see..."

"What?" Tōshirō asked, slightly irritated by her presence.

"You like her."

"No!" Tōshirō said quickly, too quickly.

Momo raised her eyebrows at his answer. What a fast denial.

"You don't even know who I'm talking about."

"..."

"So you _do_ like her, Karin that is."

"No!" Tōshirō repeated, this time adding some emphasize in his tone.

"I don't believe you."

Seriously, did he really expect Momo to give up just like that? She was a girl and girls liked gossip, especially juicy gossip concerning a guy as emotionless and anti-social as him.

"It doesn't matter," Tōshirō said coolly.

"Damn you..." Momo murmured under her breath. She was genuinely impressed by his self-control and calm, but was also tired of his poker face. He didn't even look nervous, not even the least bit uncomfortable. They were talking about him for Heaven's sake! A little reaction, please.

"Fine, give me one reason to believe that you don't like her."

Tōshirō stared at her for a long time, as if weighing the pros and cons while thinking if someone he barely knew, hence Momo, was worthy of such information.

After a couple of seconds, which seemed much longer to Momo, Tōshirō finally said, "I simply respect her for her abilities. She's very athletic for a girl, something we don't often see these days, and I admire that."

"Yeah, right..." Momo said as she rolled her eyes. Nice try.

Then, she smiled at him.

"Don't worry, I'll help you." With that, Momo grabbed his left wrist and pulled him up. She forcefully dragged him down the small hill separating the woods from the field, pulling him towards Karin.

"Karin!"

Karin looked up with a smile on her face. "Hey, Momo, how are you?"

"I'm fine, thanks, you? Hey, do you want to practice together?"

"Sure, why not? Who's your fri— Oh, it's you..."

Tōshirō frowned slightly and a complex emotion flashed through his eyes when he heard those words, something Momo did not miss.

"Karin, don't say that." Momo wished she could help Karin get a positive impression of Tōshirō, or at least, a better one than what she had of him.

Karin completely ignored that and marched up to Tōshirō. "What do you want today? The soccer field? Or are you aiming to injure another one of Tokyo's players?"

Tōshirō was stunned and couldn't utter a single word. He was a bit lost there, just a bit. A second ago, he was quietly observing her from the top of the small hill, well camouflaged behind the bushes in the woods. Then, out of nowhere, this Hinamori girl appeared and suddenly dragged him down there just so that he could get yelled at? And what did he do to deserve the yelling?

'Aiming to injure another one of Tokyo's players?' Why would he do that? Was that what he was worth in Karin's eyes? To her, he was no more than an annoyance, a person she found troublesome to deal with? Did his presence only bring her negative emotions? Was that really what he was he was to her?

Even though nothing showed on his face, Tōshirō felt slightly betrayed by Karin. Of course, being Tōshirō, he wasn't childish enough to hold grudges against her, but he would keep his distance from then on. Heck, he _was_ keeping his distance by observing her from the top of the hill until Hinamori dragged him down there.

Momo looked from Tōshirō to Karin and knew that their relationship was very bad, but Karin was harsh. She didn't have to say it that way. Even though she didn't like Tōshirō all that much and had her own suspicions about his presence there, she wasn't about to tell him off in his face without even letting him say anything to defend himself first.

"Are you mad at him?" Momo tried cautiously.

"I'm not mad at him, but I'm not too happy to see him either."

"Why is that? It's not like he did anything bad to you..."

"Trust me. I have plenty of good reason to feel this way. First of all, his bunch of American friends just had to come to Karakura Town to tour when they could have stayed in Tokyo. Not only do they mess with Tokyo's team's training schedules, but they also wanted to take this training field for some recreational soccer."

"I don't think—"

"Second of all," said Karin as she stepped towards Tōshirō threateningly, "one of your players injures Satsuki by tripping her. It might have been an accident, but he could have been more careful since the games are coming up soon. Now, we're missing a valuable player, an _irreplaceable_ player."

Karin paused and threw a look in Momo's direction, hoping that she hadn't offended her.

"I'm not saying that Momo doesn't meet our requirements or anything, but she's still unfamiliar with the team. Anyway, third of all—"

"Spare me. I'm leaving," Tōshirō said, knowing that he wasn't welcomed there.

"See you later," he said to Momo before leaving.

He didn't blame her for dragging him down there and letting him have such a _pleasant_ conversation with Karin, but he would have preferred to avoid the incident. There was no need for any of this. He could have just stayed there to watch her play and she would have been spared of his presence. All of this was a waste of time.

"Bye..." Momo said weakly, feeling very bad to have acted without really thinking about it in the first place.

A feeling of loneliness washed over her as she stared at his retreating back. His lone silhouette in the large soccer field was especially conspicuous. She didn't mean to cause so much trouble, but she made a mess. Even though Tōshirō kept on insisting that he felt nothing but admiration for Karin, Momo thought otherwise. When she saw the way Tōshirō looked at Karin, a look close to longing, she knew that he was sinking deeper and deeper into love's quicksand. She wanted to help. She wanted to pull him out of there before he was completely swallowed. That was why she dragged him down there without thinking and only made the situation worse.

Momo hated his emotionless face and his lack of social skills, but she still believed that he didn't deserve such harsh treatment. Karin was a straightforward person, and sometimes, the words she used would hurt like a stab. Momo knew that Karin never really meant to offend anyone, but this time, she should have used another way to tell Tōshirō that he wasn't welcomed there.

"Was that too much?" Karin asked now that she calmed down and realized that Tōshirō might be affected by her too honest and direct words.

"I think you were a bit too hard on him. You know, Tōshirō regards you highly for your profound knowledge in soccer and amazing abilities in sports. I don't think he wanted to cause you any trouble."

"What do you mean?"

"I think he simply wants to become friends with you and, you know, play soccer together. Maybe you should apologize to him. I don't think he deserved that."

Karin thought about it.

"Maybe you're right," Karin answered as she stared at the woods behind which Tōshirō disappeared.

And she ran after him.

* * *

**- To be continued... -**


End file.
